Identity
by oreocheesecakes
Summary: She was already quite insecure about her new albeit temporary baldness, but the weight everyone was putting on her stunning resemblance to her grandfather was making her even more uncomfortable. Thankfully, Jinora receives some unexpected reassurance after the anointing ceremony.


**So I wanted to try writing some Kainora :)**

**I don't own The Legend of Korra.**

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"Can you believe it? She looks exactly like Avatar Aang!"

"I know! Funny how being bald can make people look like each other, huh?"

"Did you hear? Master Katara's coming. Just wait until she sees her granddaughter—she's probably going to think it's her husband's ghost."

Jinora sank back into the wall behind the stage, pulling up her hood once more. She was already quite insecure about her new albeit temporary baldness, but the weight everyone was putting on her stunning resemblance to her grandfather was making her even more uncomfortable. Ever since the ceremony had ended, hardly anyone could talk about her without mentioning Avatar Aang, too.

She let out a sigh. Sure, it was an honor being compared to him, and she held him in such high regard—but with every sentence uttered, she could slowly feel herself losing her own identity, and the very idea of it terrified her. Even as a child, she had never appreciated people referring to her merely as "Avatar Aang's granddaughter" or "Councilman Tenzin's daughter." She wanted to be known as an individual, as Jinora—she wanted to leave her own mark on the world, and she wanted everyone to recognize her for her own talents and achievements rather than that of the people related to her.

This day—her anointing ceremony—was supposed to be that moment. This was supposed to be the time people celebrated her mastery of her element, something she had been working on ever since she discovered she was an airbender. People were supposed to acknowledge how all her years of training, meditating, and studying had paid off in the form of blue arrows tattooed on her body.

But all they see is how much I look like Grandpa Aang, she thought miserably, closing her eyes.

"What's with the lonesome face, Master Jinora?"

The young airbender turned in surprise at the sound, which seemed to have come from someone nearby. Before she could see who had spoken, though, a blur of red and yellow tackled her into a hug.

She initially stiffened in shock, but thankfully, the mystery person pulled back to grin at her after a few moments. "Kai!" she exclaimed breathlessly, her face immediately brightening. "You scared the lights out of me."

"Sorry," he apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. She had to fight back the urge to smile—he was always so cute when he did that. "Pretty proud and excited friend of the first female airbending master in more than a century right here. And tattoos at eleven, Jinora! That's really something," he said, admiration written all over his face.

She waved her hand, dismissing his praise. "Grandpa Aang got his at more or less the same age, you know," she pointed out. Still, she couldn't help but be grateful for Kai—at least one person besides her family who remembered what the ceremony was really about.

"See? You're on the Avatar level!" he exclaimed, unabashedly throwing his hands in the air.

She laughed lightly. "I think it's more of me having some good genes. But thanks, Kai. I can hardly still believe I'm actually a master now."

Kai rolled his eyes. "I told you, if anyone's a master, you are. Those tattoos are just to make it official," he said a-matter-of-factly, seeming oblivious to how his statement made her cheeks heat up. "Hey, speaking of which, why are you hiding them? Go show the world your arrows, Master!" He playfully sent a puff of air towards her, blowing off her hood and revealing her bald head.

Turning even redder, she hurriedly scrambled to cover it again. "Why are you putting your hood back on?" Kai asked, his eyebrows furrowing. "Is it tradition or something?"

"No, it's just—" She sighed in frustration. How was she going to say it?

"Just what?" He cocked his head in puzzlement.

She bit her lip. There was no point in lying—Kai would see right through her. "Everyone's been saying that I look exactly like Grandpa Aang," she admitted. "Like they're all waiting for Gran-Gran to arrive from the South Pole so they can show her." She averted her eyes. "They're right, though. I never met him, but even I can see that I'm the spitting image of his statues."

"Well, you are his granddaughter," Kai said, still confused. "And is that a bad thing?"

"Well, no, but—" she sighed once more, blushing as she tried to explain her pettiness. "I feel like I'm losing my identity. And . . . And Avatar Aang is a guy," she forced out, looking down in humiliation. She could only imagine what Kai was thinking—Jinora, always so sensible and rational, was worrying about something as trivial as her appearance on her anointing ceremony.

"Hey." The gentle voice drew her gaze back to his. She watched as he closed the distance between them with a few steps, then reached out to gently lower her hood. "You're still Jinora to me, and you still look like a girl. I'm also willing to bet that I would recognize you even if Avatar Aang's eleven year-old self were standing right next to you."

A small smile crept onto her face. He understood, and he wasn't judging her triviality—he was even comforting her. "Thanks."

He grinned. "And about looking like your grandfather . . . well, if that's true, then he must have been a really pretty Avatar."

Her eyes widened at his words and she looked away, blushing, hardly daring to believe her ears. Kai . . . Kai thought she was really pretty.

"Jinora!" Tenzin's voice called, pulling her back to reality. "Where are you? The celebratory luncheon is about to start!"

"Oh, Dad's looking for me," she muttered, smoothing her robes before turning back to him. "You're coming, right?"

"Hey, it's required," he said jokingly, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes again. "But even if it weren't, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

She smiled. "See you there, then." Almost instinctively, she leaned forward a bit to kiss his cheek, but she stopped, catching herself.

It wasn't as if it were the first time she was going to show him that level of affection, but it would be the first time she would do so casually—relief at seeing him all right in Ba Sing Se had made her lose her inhibitions. But that easygoing grin on his face, his charming bright eyes—spirits, even the way his hair was messed up—

"Jinora!" Her father's voice called again, this time sounding much nearer.

"See you," Kai said, and to her absolute shock, he stole a kiss on her cheek. She barely had time to blush before he had darted off.

"Jinora!" Her father appeared in front of her a few seconds after Kai had left. The man looked irritated, and his arms were crossed with impatience. "What have you been doing here? Everyone's waiting for you!"

His words shook her back to reality. "S—Sorry, Dad. I—"

"Just tell me about it later," he said, walking briskly and gesturing for her to follow. She tailed right behind him, still distractedly trying to shake away the tingling Kai's lips had left on her cheek as her father went on about everyone waiting in the dining hall.

". . . And your grandmother just arrived. She's very excited to see the newest master." He turned to her when he said this, and a short while after their eyes had locked, Jinora saw something in his expression shift. Her father soon slowed to a stop, and she did the same, confused.

"Dad?"

He sighed. "I'm sure this is probably the twentieth time you've heard this today, but you look exactly like your grandfather."

Her mouth twitched—not her father, too. "Actually, it's the twenty-fifth. I've been keeping count."

Tenzin cracked a smile. "It's not surprising. But what I'm concerned about is you, Jinora." He kneeled down so that they were eye-to-eye. "Is it all right for you to keep being compared to Avatar Aang?"

Jinora blinked, quite taken aback at his question—he seemed to have read her mind. She lowered her gaze, unable to look him in the eye. "N—Not really," she admitted. "It's crazy, but I feel like I'm losing my identity."

To her even greater surprise, Tenzin nodded. "They said the same thing when I got my tattoos, you know. Unlike you, though, I was ecstatic. All I wanted to be was exactly like my father."

Jinora felt a sinking feeling in her stomach—of course he wouldn't understand. Her father idolized Aang more than anyone, and was completely dedicated to living up to the standards his airbending master had set. "I'm sorry—"

Tenzin shook his head. "No, Jinora, I was the one wrong. You should never aim to be someone besides yourself. Dad taught me that lesson himself a few months ago." The older airbender smiled at the memory, and though Jinora was curious, she decided that she would ask about it some other time. "It's good that you know who you are. Don't worry about your identity—you'll never lose it, no matter how hard you try." He chuckled dryly. "I would know."

The surprise reassurance her father was giving her made her smile. "Thanks, Dad," she said, fully comforted by his words.

The corner of his mouth pulled up. "I've also been meaning to ask you . . . how are you taking the baldness? It was quite an adjustment for me, and it goes without saying that your aunt and uncle gave me the hardest time possible." She grinned at that; it was so like Aunt Kya and Uncle Bumi to do that. "But I can only imagine what it must be like for a girl."

She sighed. "Well, it was kind of weird at first. Actually, it still is. But I'm okay," she assured him.

"That's great," he said, looking relieved. "You're beautiful with or without your hair, Jinora, and I'm glad you know it."

Tears sprang to the young airbender's eyes—she hadn't expected him to say something like that, and she really appreciated it.

"Thanks, Dad," she said, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. He returned it, and Jinora smiled in his embrace—if Kai and her Dad both thought her insecurities were unfounded, then she really didn't have anything to worry about.

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**I wanted to try my hand at Kainora, but I couldn't resist adding some father-daughter dynamics to the story :)**


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